Who are you?!?

"Excuse me Sir, do you know it is illegal to drink in public"
"Who are You?"
"I am a concerned citizen who is wondering why you are drinking in public."
"What are you going to do about it??"
"Well, I am going to take a photo of you because you are breaking the law."

So then the "gentleman" turns his back and keeps drinking and I wait patiently until his curiosity gets the better of him and he turns around to see if I am still there and SNAP. As a good friend of mine always says "het jou katvis".

I then asked him if the blue WV Golf that he was leaning against was his car, to which he replied in the negative but as I was getting ready to take a photo of the car anyway, his friend came running over and asked why I was taking a photo of his car. I explained that it was a way to track his friend and then he got quite aggressive and started to threaten me. I hopped into my car and waved politely as I drove off.

Cell phones with cameras come in very handy and I use mine whenever I see someone breaking the law or something that looks suspicions, it's one of my favourite "weapons".

Meet Chucky

There is a bad guy who lives in our neighbourhood. In the interest of anonymity, lets call him Chucky. I first saw Chucky about 3 months ago while I was waiting at a red light. My lane was the right turn lane to get onto the highway. This matt black (looks like it was painted with a roller and a can of double velvet) double cab truck with very dark tinted windows came racing down the left lane, cut right in front of the person in the front and went through the red light. He had an armed response sticker on the side of his truck, which at that point could possibly have explain the haste. But once I got onto the highway, I passed the black truck, who had slowed down considerably and seemed to be in no particular hurry.

After some "enquiries" I found out his name and address and that he is a well known drug dealer in our area. The number plates on Chucky's truck are false and he uses that truck as a place for young girls in the neighbourhood to hide in while they get high, among other things. Armed response stickers - what a great idea for cover. It allows Chucky to park his car for long periods of time without anyone getting in the least suspicious. At the moment, he deals mostly from the parking lot outside Pick 'n Pay and from the train station and often has drug parties at his house. He seems to relocate quite a bit but has recently moved back into a house where he previously resided , I believe that it is his mom's house.

I am sure that Chucky, just like many other bad guys around think that they are invisible, well newsflash Chucky; we are watching you.

The Amazing Race

The human race is nothing short of amazing. We can live in both extremes of the weather - Azizia in Northern Africa where temperatures reach 66 °C (150 F) as well as Eureka, Nunavut, Canada where the daily average temperature is −19.7 °C (remember, this the average temperature, it actually sometimes get much colder). As humans we are able adapt to the harshest conditions - think about the world wars... Bombs, blackouts, concentration camps, abstract poverty and depression.

Not only do humans adapt to just about anything, more than that, harsh conditions become part of our everyday lives. We complain about the effects of these circumstances but most of us learn to live with them and thrive just as we do when there is no adversity.

The crime in South Africa has escalated over the past 10 years to point where it often feels like we are at war, one that even the politician have admitted we are loosing. But crime is not only expanding on our continent, many other countries around the world are beginning to feel the effect that drugs are having on our youth. Taking away their inhibitions and allowing them to "justify" their behaviour.

Crime is here to stay and we are all adapting, slowly. Putting walls up, installing alarms... and becoming more aware. Crime sucks but it very much a part of our lives now and to borrow a quote from a very famous gentleman (or should that be lady?), Mr. Pieter Dirk Uys we need to "Adapt or die".